Shao Cynthia, Torstenson Martha, Shaw Allison K
Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 25;20(2):e0316640. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316640. eCollection 2025.
Migration, the recurring movement of animals between habitats, can exert pressures on the pathogens they host. Properties of host populations can determine pathogen strategy (e.g. virulence) to increase pathogen fitness. To study the effect of adding a resistant compartment on virulence evolution, we developed an SIRS model and examined the winning pathogen strategy across different rates of recovery and of immunity loss. We find that when hosts spend a relatively long time in the resistant compartment, a more virulent pathogen evolves. These results have implications in conservation of migratory animal populations afflicted by disease.
迁徙，即动物在栖息地之间反复进行的移动，会对它们所携带的病原体施加压力。宿主种群的特性能够决定病原体为提高自身适应性而采取的策略（例如毒力）。为了研究添加一个抗性区室对毒力进化的影响，我们构建了一个SIRS模型，并考察了在不同恢复率和免疫丧失率情况下占优势的病原体策略。我们发现，当宿主在抗性区室中停留相对较长时间时，会进化出毒性更强的病原体。这些结果对于受疾病困扰的迁徙动物种群的保护具有启示意义。
